Bitwig Studio 4 + maschine2 & MK3 integration - having trouble
Hey all -- Ive been using my MK3 inside Cubase 12 for years and Im quite good at integration and management, and today I have decided to broaden my horizons and try out Bitwig!
Ive spent about 2 hours watching videos and reading documentation, and I have most NI software (plugins, fx, libraries) installed and working fine. Ive already gotten started with Bitwig and have a simple little track, and it is playing well with my synths right now. I can record and playback MIDI from all other instruments.
A problem I'm having is the routing between Bitwig <---> Maschine2. I have followed every tutorial and watched every video, and I simply cannot record MIDI notes into Bitwig, into the arranger or a clip.
-I can draw notes on the arranger and they play back. I can trigger notes from the Bitwig piano roll and I hear sounds. I cannot record notes into the arranger by hitting piano roll keys during record mode.
-I can hit pads on my MK3 and hear sounds, see activity on Bitwig meters. I do not see MIDI note activity, only audio.
Ive done all the normal routing tricks that work in Cubase, including ensuring the "sounds to MIDI notes" config on my maschine2 group. When I configure my drum kit normally (manual mode), I hear no sounds. I have to be in "drumkit mode" to hear any sounds at all, no matter what midi channels or routing options I choose.
Ive gone to the Bitwig site and clicked on specific "routing instructions for NI MK3", but they have not been specific at all, to do with routing. Everything is already routed in these videos. Does anyone have a good guide for this? I searched this site quite a bit but did not find anything. Thanks!
Comments
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This is probably what you want to review
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Thanks! Question: do you know where in the video he talks about specific routings in/out of Bitwig? I've been watching this for over 20 minutes and he is just demonstrating Bitwig's features or talking about "how easy it is to route".
I do not use maschine to arrange and exclusively use my DAW for this. So I dont need to control maschine's scenes and clips and etc from Bitwig, I only need to record notes into Bitwig from MK3 via maschine.
The video author seems to be capturing MIDI from maschine using a special module? Is there another way to capture the notes coming in from maschine other than using the "Note FX"? Is there a simpler way to just get notes into the arranger?
Should I maybe create 2 "instrument" tracks in Bitwig, then use routing to send notes from one to the other so I get audio from one and notes into the other? Ive tried a few things on my own, but the big problem is Bitwig seeing the notes coming from maschine.
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Nevermind, I think I found it. He doesnt talk about routing until about 35:00.
Working on this now. Thanks for posting that!
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So I've got this working as the video author intends, but I have to wonder if there is a simpler way to do this routing. This was a major configuration and took a solid hour to build, and shifts most of the routing work to Bitwig. Its really nice how Bitwig handles the routing heavy-lifting in this example, but I'm still trying to build a more minimal template with Maschine groups routed to Bitwig instrument tracks, as opposed to individual sounds being routed to Bitwig instrument tracks.
In cubase, I have the flexibility to route Maschine either way - groups to tracks or channels to tracks. Im really having trouble finding more info about this outside people claiming to be paid "Bitwig trainers" lol.
I also just realized that even after ALL of the above, I still cant record live MIDI notes into Bitwig from maschine/MK3. This allows me to create patterns on maschine and drag/drop them into Bitwig, but it still doesnt solve my original issue - recording live notes into Bitwig. This is very frustrating.
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Im really hoping to clarify this issue -- does Maschine work inside Bitwig studio 4 or 5 in PLUGIN MODE so that the purpose-built integration between Maschine and MK3 can be used?
Or does this only work with the MK3 in "dumb" MIDI mode with custom 3rd party scripts from people like "Driven By Moss"? This seems to be what I am seeing, and I am not hearing any official replies from NI on this question, so is that it? Ive spent 4-5 hours on this now, and Ive reached out on KVR, YouTube, etc, and the replies Im getting make it sound like Maschine doesnt work inside Bitwig natively. Can anyone clarify this for me? I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to find another DAW to use that isnt Cubase...
Edit: once more, solved this on my own. After many frustrating hours of reading, watching, configuring, I threw everything out and started over. Unloaded the Driven By Moss script, and went back to the basic MK3 script included with Bitwig.
In the end, I have to have 2 instrument tracks in Bitwig in order to capture MIDI data coming from maschine. For some reason, 1 track with 1 maschine instance, any way you route it, will NOT capture the MIDI data coming from Maschine. So I made a second track and connected its input to the output of track 1, and MIDI is now captured. I have 2 tracks instead of 1, and I have to drag the MIDI parts up to track 1 to play them, but this is the minimal solution I was seeking. I have no idea why Bitwig makes me create 2 tracks to do this, but that's what works.
I notice: NI's customer support philosophy on this forum has notably changed over the last 2 years. Its much more "fend for yourself" now, like the Steinberg forums, and you wind up solving issues..... yourself or with the community more than with actual support reps. Im sure that saves some money, yes. That sucks, but I smell the direction the winds of capitalism are blowing and it stinks. Thanks!
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i dont use Bitwig although i've tried it... i personally use Reaper...
Routing groups from Maschine into Reaper is a fairly straight forward process, now that im familiar with Reaper...
if you are looking to move away from Cubase... consider reaper.. as there is a free trial.. no limits no strings attached to try out everything Reaper has to offer.
I have been fortunate in learning Maschine & Reaper... and fumbling my way through both, but i am building a template which allows for integration of many Musical applications via virtual audio routings...
when you have 32 virtual audio pairs to route audiochannels with(blackhole 64ch), integration of routing many audio applications becomes possible
heres a video.. of how i route Maschine into reaper
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i have moved this template i created above across ... and ported it to my m1 Mac mini... and pushing the envelope with more integration... with applications like Traktor pro 3 & Remixlive & maschine also running in sync...
what is missing from the above template shown in the video.... is the midi routing from Maschine to Reaper... i haven't added that functionality, but i have no doubt it is doable as heres a video of the person who led me down this path of mapping my midi maschine Jam controllers!! Big ups to Chris!!
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heres another video by Chris... which shows the speed in handling loops in reaper, bit of a sidetrack from the OP.. but hey.. you looking for a powerful DAW with alot of configuration and customisation... for midi & audio to make a Daw do what you need!!?? Reaper is the answer
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heres a script that a user in Reaper made for the community.... hundreds & hundred of scripts have been made for the community by users with programming talents to make Reaper do what they want!!
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Hey, thanks!! I was also looking at Reaper as a possibility, and I appreciate seeing the resources and community that support it. No reason I cant have 3 DAWs on this workstation lol.
I think I've resolved my issues with Bitwig + Maschine integration on my own, and now its all working really well for me. For some reason I have to use 2 "instrument" tracks in Bitwig to play and to capture MIDI data coming from Maschine, but it does work and this was the biggest issue for me to resolve.
The only remaining issue I am looking at now isnt part of NI stuff, so I havent mentioned it here. I bought that Vector Synth (the Beetlecrab people from Czechoslovakia), and the Vector has 2 input and 2 output channels. 2 channels for regular input/arp input, and 2 channels for output/arp output. Im having trouble capturing the arp output from the synth in Bitwig, and this is something that works in Cubase.
Ive added Reaper to my to-do list lol. Ill finish up with my Bitwig stuff tonight and probably check out Reaper tomorrow after I finish my templates and whatnot. Thank you!
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In Reaper there is a user made VST, called Realearn....which basically extends the use of a midi controller and allow you to create custom mappings within Reaper... it is a very powerful tool when wanting to control aspects within Reaper in realtime.... as i demonstrated in the first video...
The user interface of Realearn is very well made.... and is a central part of my template im still working on... all that said..
heres another video i did some time back... using the powerful shaperbox2 VST, and how to integrate 4 instances and controlling each instance simultaneously... using realearn
in this demonstation im using 5 looped samples creating simple variations on the fly, in truth im only scratching the surface with shaperbox2 in this video
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Very cool. Im a shaperbox owner as well, although Im sorta angry at Cableguys for what they did with Shaperbox2 to Shaperbox3. I bought 2, and then like 1 month later they updated it to 3, made it hard to find my existing license in my account(hid it in "legacy downloads"), and put the paid update in my account where it looked like I HAD to buy 3 or lose access to 2. I use Turnado and dozens of other similar glitchy, freaky tools like Cryogen and weird ***** like Palindrome.
You've inspired me to take a look at Reaper, and Im really stoked that Im learning new DAWs. Im exhausted from being a Steinberg customer, for real, and Im just sick of it, even though I know it like the back of my hand.
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My comments are unable to be posted, and "will appear once approved"??? In my own thread, in the middle of a conversation??? Nice. Welp, fortunately I solved my own issue, as I mentioned above, so I guess I dont need to be here anymore. Thanks for the Q/A, etc.
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